Ship Ahoy, Mateys! A Pirates Theme Party can be fun for many ages and for either girls or boys. I planned this party with 6 to 9 year old boys in mind and between 6 to 8 guests.
As with any theme party, your preparations can be elaborate or simple. I have a tendency to make grand productions out of parties, but you can choose to do more or less. Your party can be very creative and cost less than a store-bought version, but then it is labor-intensive. You may opt to take advantage of the many resources listed who offer complete party sets to compliment your theme and save you time. Your third choice could be a combination of the first two.
My ideas should only be a starting point for your own creativity. Use them all or just one or two and adjust them to suit your circumstances. I enjoy doing things from scratch, my creative thinking is often much better than my actual implementation of these ideas. My parties are uniquely mine, but whatever you choose will make them uniquely yours and they will certainly be a success.
When you think of pirates, certain images come to mind. You see old wooden ships flying the black flag with its scull and crossbones. Ships are bounced around on rough seas, with tough looking characters onboard. Pirates with striped shirts, tattoos, wooden pegs for legs, and a hook for hands people these vessels. You see the pirate's hat above weathered faces with gold teeth, and colorful bandanas tied around their head, which reveal a gold earring. The swashbuckling swordsman comes to mind. Thoughts drift to beautiful deserted islands filled with buried treasures. You might see a colorful parrot, a palm tree, worn maps, and sunken treasure chests full of gold doubloons. This is the atmosphere you want to create.
Whether decorations are home crafted or store purchased, keep to the theme. Some items you may include are treasure chests, maps, seascapes, ships, navigation tools, spyglasses, cannons, kegs, parrots, fishnets, sea life, mermaids, and scenery like rock piles, and palm trees. You may think of lots more.
The scene is set, now add activity and game ideas. Adapt any game to your theme, create original games, or borrow ideas from the atmosphere you are trying to create.
Game #1- DIG FOR TREASURE - No pirate's party would be complete without digging for treasure. I would use a kid's wading pool filled with sand, which has been sprinkled with various small toys, real coins, well-wrapped candies or tiny Styrofoam balls with numbers, which correspond to prizes.
